Second Time Around
by LGCoffeeAddict
Summary: When Addison Forbes Montgomery-Nelson discovers her husband of three years is having an affair, she turns to Pete to comfort her--and ends up having an affair of her own. Based loosely on ppplily's Paddison/HotCop music video, "Forgive Me."
1. Chapter 1

Second Time Around

A **Private Practice** fic by Gigi

**Disclaimer**: As much as I wish it weren't so, the only part of Private Practice that I own is what I create in Gigi-land.

Chapter 1: Make it Stop

**A/N: So I got this idea from ppplily, who made this really gorgeous video called **_**Forgive Me**_**, and I just fell in love with the concept. As much as I don't like Addison being a cheater, I really want to write this story, and I hope you want to read it!**

Addison Forbes Montgomery, formerly Addison Forbes Montgomery-Shepherd, had been Addison Forbes Montgomery-Nelson for three years now. It had been a pretty good three years. Things at the practice were good. Kevin was so sweet and so giving to her when she got home from work: he would comfort her after she had a particularly emotional case; he would listen calmly to her rant about her difficult patients and massage her feet. He seemed like the perfect husband.

But Addison Forbes Montgomery-Nelson sat huddled in her closet, feeling an overwhelmingly unpleasant sense of déjà vu. A box of tissues rested on her left and a pile of used tissues on her right, and Addison stared at something on a hanger right in front her: a negligee nightgown—that wasn't hers. It wasn't even her size.

She'd checked her husband's cell phone while he was showering and found ten of the last fifteen calls had been made to a Karen Milner. They had always been made right before he said he had to go to work—at 10 p.m.

"God, why didn't I see this coming?" she cried softly to herself, letting her tears fall freely in her closet sanctuary. "It was so damn obvious."

**8D**

Something was off about Addison. She normally came into the office at 8:30 sharp, looking professional yet incredibly sexy as hell. Today, her office was empty until 9 o'clock, when she rushed in with slightly red eyes and dropped her stuff off at her desk before sitting down at the conference table just before the morning meeting began.

Her appearance was off, too. She still looked fine, professional enough but not _her _professional. Her shirt had a few wrinkles in it, as did her skirt. Her hair had been straightened, as per her usual, but the ends curled every which way, as if she had given up. Addison never gave up.

"Pete!" the redhead barked—which was another thing she rarely did—at him, trying to get his attention.

"What?"

"This is when you're supposed to tell us any patients we might need to be aware of," she declared, almost glaring at him. The other doctors surrounding the table begged him with their eyes to answer her so they could avoid any more unpleasantness.

**8D**

"Pete?" Addison asked later, poking her head into his office. He looked up at her, questions swimming in his eyes. She may have stopped randomly yelling at him, but she still looked upset.

"What's up?"

"Do you have anything for headaches that won't make me drowsy?" She let herself in and closed the door behind her. "I left my bottle of aspirin at home."

Pete stood up and started searching his cabinet for his patent tea. Turning back around with tea in hand, he refused to give it to her. "Not until you tell me what's wrong," he mandated.

Her eyes pleaded him not to make her tell him, but he just stared her down until she collapsed on his couch and buried her face in her hands. Bringing her hands down to her chin, she looked off into space for a minute. "I was just incredibly stupid, that's all," she finally excused, her voice hitching as the tears started leaking out of her eyes.

"How?" Pete persisted, grabbing a box of tissues and sitting down next to her on the couch.

"Kevin..." she choked out, the tears falling faster now. Pete started rubbing circles on her back, trying to soothe her but to no avail. "Kevin's having an affair." She buried her face in her hands again, her engagement and wedding rings glistening on her left ring finger.

Whatever Pete had expected Addison to say, he had certainly not expected that. Kevin had always seemed so completely in love with his wife, so head over heels devoted to her. Pete never thought Kevin would ever feel the need to cheat, not when he had such an amazing woman to come home to every night. This threw Pete for a loop, and for once in his life, he was at a loss for words. His hand stopped rubbing circles on her back.

"He's what?" he asked quietly. He hated seeing this strong, confident woman break at having to utter the words of her husband's infidelity, and he _hated_ her husband for doing this to her.

"He's having an affair," she repeated. She grabbed a tissue from the box in his hand and blew her nose loudly. "He's seeing a woman named Karen every few nights, and last night I found a piece of her lingerie."

"How did you know it was hers?" Addison looked over at her friend, smiling forlornly at his attempt to search for any other explanation for the nightgown than the truth.

"Do I look like a five-six double-D to you?" the five-nine C replied. Realization flashed in Pete's dark eyes as he slowly shook his head. "That's how."

Pete wrapped his arms around his best friend, hugging her hard as if that would help take away her pain, as if her hurt could seep out of her into him. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Make the pain stop," she sobbed into his chest.

**8D**

Pete watched her chest rise and fall with the slow, even breaths of slumber. The moonlight filtered through the window blinds and softly illuminated her arms, her legs, any part of her that wasn't covered with his bedsheets. Her red hair fanned out on her pillow, and her forehead had lost its tension. For the first time all day, she looked truly at peace.

Staring at Addison Forbes Montgomery-Nelson, asleep in his bed, Pete Wilder reflected on how she got there and hoped she wouldn't regret it in the morning.

_Addison had stayed at work much later than she usually did, and Pete came out of his office to see her standing in front of the elevator, but the down button hadn't been pushed. He walked across the lobby and stood beside her, looking directly ahead as if he, too, was waiting for the elevator that wasn't going to come._

"_He's been home for the last two nights," she breathed out when she felt him beside her. Pete turned his head to look at her. "I don't want to go home to an empty house when I know why it's that way."_

_Pete stayed silent. He pushed the button for the elevator and returned to watching the doors. "You shouldn't go home, not tonight," he said. "Spend the night at a friend's."_

_Addison laughed hollowly at his suggestion. "Whose? Nobody else knows, Pete. Nobody but you."_

"_Then stay at my house," he followed up. The light above the elevator glowed and signaled the doors' opening. Pete gently guided his friend into the cabin with a hand on her elbow. "I'll take care of you tonight."_

_At last, she looked at Pete, considering the idea, and nodded. "Thank you," she whispered._

_They both took their own cars to Pete's house, and the first thing Pete did when they entered his place was point her up the stairs to his bedroom. "You wait upstairs. I'll bring us up some dinner."_

_He came into his room carrying a tray with two plates of pasta and two glasses of water. She had discarded her heels on the floor and sat cross-legged on one side of the bed. "I'm not really hungry," she confessed sadly._

"_I don't care," Pete responded, placing a plate in front of her and her water on the nightstand beside her. "You need to eat." He handed her a fork, which she took solemnly. She began picking at her pasta, but Pete didn't even look at his own plate until she had put a bite in her mouth._

_They ate in silence, and when they finished, Pete took the plates back downstairs. He returned to find her standing in front of his closet, going through his button-up shirts and picking out a black one. "Wasn't this the one you were wearing that night at my house when we...?" Pete nodded. She started to unbutton her own shirt right then and there. Pete turned around and let her have some privacy as she undressed and donned his shirt. "It's big," she commented when she was done. Pete looked and saw how right she was. The sleeves came down way past her hands, and the tails extended almost to her knees. Despite the shirt almost dwarfing her, it fit her. Her vibrant red hair fell in soft curls on her shoulders, standing out even more on the black of the shirt. She looked comfortable. She looked breathtaking._

"_How bad is the pain?" he asked when she had returned to her seated position on his bed._

"_On a scale of one to ten? Eighteen."_

"_Any way I can help that go down at all?" Pete felt helpless as his closest friend's face fell. He sat in front of her and made her look him in the eye._

_Her blue eyes searched his, straining to see an answer in them to her marital problems but knowing that was an impossibility. "Make the pain stop," she repeated her earlier words. She leaned forward and touched her lips softly to his, her eyes drifting closed. A few seconds later, she pulled away and opened her eyes, hoping he'd get the message._

_This time, he leaned forward._

**A/N: Wow, this was emotional. Don't worry, this isn't going to be a Meredith-George situation. There **_**will**_** be some lighter moments, but not unless you review. So please review. **_**Please**_**.**


	2. Back Again

Second Time Around

A **Private Practice** fic by Gigi

**Disclaimer**: As much as I wish it weren't so, the only part of Private Practice that I own is what I create in Gigi-land.

Chapter 2: Back Again

**A/N: I'm glad that other people thought this concept was as compelling as I do. It makes me happy and when I'm happy, I write more. Yay for happiness!**

At some point in the night, Pete had drifted off to sleep, but when the sun crept up onto his face, interrupting his slumber, he opened his eyes to see Addison fingering the sheet covering her and staring at the ceiling.

"Addison?" he started quietly, hoping to get her attention.

She didn't answer him, not directly. Her eyes never left the ceiling as she voiced her thoughts. "I didn't think I was still this person."

"What person?"

"The person who cheats on her husband. I thought I had learned from what happened to my marriage to Derek after he found me in bed with his best friend. I thought that two months alone in New York with the best friend who still cheated on me, followed by a year and a half spent in Seattle watching my husband pining for someone else and then leaving me for her...I thought that was enough to beat it into my head that none of that would have happened if I hadn't cheated," she answered dejectedly. Turning her head on her pillow so she was looking at Pete, she stroked his cheek. "Not that I regret last night at all, because I don't. I know that this time is different, but I still feel like I'm cheating."

"Listen, Addison," Pete ordered, taking her hand from his face and clasping it in his hand. "I know you still love Kevin. I understand that there's no way you can just get rid of all that love in one night." Addison's eyes shone with newly formed tears that threatened to spill over.

"I do," she breathed. "I do love him, and I hate that I still love him."

"Love doesn't just disappear, I know that," Pete continued, "but no matter what happens or who you choose, I'm always going to be here for you, even if it's just as a friend."

Addison smiled sadly, her eyes falling to their hands. Her wedding rings shone there like a blatant reminder of her second failed marriage. "I should leave him. I know I should leave him," she declared quietly. "But Derek took me back after I slept with his best friend, and sleeping with the best friend is a whole lot worse than sleeping with a random woman. Derek gave me another chance. Shouldn't I give Kevin another chance?"

Pete wanted so much to yell "_No_" at the top of his lungs, but that wasn't what Addison needed just then. So he just stroked the back of her hand softly. "If you think he deserves another chance, then you should," he told her. "But he needs to know that it _is_ his second chance. You need to tell Kevin you know about Karen."

Shifting underneath the covers, Addison moved so she was curled up in his chest once more, with Pete's arms wrapped around her bare back. Tears slowly fell out of her eyes and lost themselves in his chest hair. "Thank you for taking care of me," she whispered.

**8D**

Addison sat at her dining room table and stared at the empty chair in front of her. Her hands clasped each other to keep her from biting the hell out of her nails as she waited. Nervously, Addison glanced at the clock hanging on her wall.

3:47 p.m.

Kevin usually got home at 3:45 p.m. on the dot. He was _never_ late, not even by two minutes.

Addison checked her wristwatch, hoping her wall clock was just fast.

3:47 p.m.

He'd only ever been late coming home when they were hot on some guy's trail, and even then he always called.

Addison picked up her BlackBerry, which had been resting on the table beside her hands, and turned on the screen to check the time on _that_.

3:48 p.m.

Suddenly, Addison hoped he would take longer to come home, because she realized she hadn't thought of what she would say. She'd spent all day just talking herself into confronting him, but that took so much time and effort that the follow-through completely fell off the wagon.

Should she even tell him she knew? Because she didn't really have any validity in being hurt when she had just slept with Pete. Well, she did, but he wouldn't see that way. Not that she was going to tell him.

She heard the door open and Kevin walked down the hall shortly after. He flashed her a smile and pecked her on the lips as he dropped his keys and gun in his drawer. "Hello," he greeted, flushed as if he'd rushed to get home on time.

"Hey," she said, spacing out a little.

Kevin joined her at the table, taking the seat next to her and peering into her face. "Are you okay?"

_Bite the bullet, Addison. Just rip off the band-aid that covers that bullet hole._ Addison mentally slapped her forehead. _Great, now I'm mixing metaphors_.

Taking a deep breath, she focused on her husband. "Are you unhappy, Kevin?" she finally asked.

Confusion was written all over the SWAT's face. "Of course not. Why would you think anything else?"

"Because you keep taking all these extra shifts two, three times a week," Addison began, losing her nerve to actually confront him about the affair. "And you're only home long enough for dinner before you have to go again. The only nights you're here before I'm asleep are the nights we have sex."

"Addison," Kevin stopped her, grabbing hold of her hands. "I don't want you thinking I'm not happy, because that is not true. I'm extremely happy. I have an amazing wife, a job I love, and a gi—great life." Addison swore she saw, just for a second, guilt flash in his eyes. "I wouldn't want to change any of it."

_I'll bet you wouldn't_, she thought wryly. Immediately, she hated herself for thinking that. She couldn't think that if she wanted them to work.

"Then why are you never here?" Addison continued. "I'm not a demanding person when it comes to attention, Kevin, just that you pay me _some_ every once in a while." Her mind flashed back to five years ago, when Derek had been absent toward her, when Mark suddenly paid her all the attention in the world. "I feel like we're just going through the motions, and the only time you notice me is when I'm in lingerie or nothing at all."

"That's not true," Kevin protested.

"But it is," Addison insisted, suddenly seeing an opening. "I'm not saying you need to constantly buy me things, but the only thing you've gotten me in the last few months is a piece of lingerie, and you didn't even give it to me. You just stuck it in the closet."

Now Kevin looked really confused. "What lingerie? I never bought you any lingerie," he said. His eyes widened slightly in horror when he realized whose it must be.

"Then why is there a new, incredibly short negligee dress in my closet?" she asked innocently.

Kevin's face paled as he scrambled for an answer. "Are you sure it's not the maid's?"

"Kevin, is the dress for somebody else?" Addison questioned slowly. _Come on, be the bigger man, Kevin,_ she urged. _If you love me, just tell me the truth._ "It's okay if it is. I mean, it isn't, but I'd forgive you."

Kevin hesitated before shaking his head firmly and answered, "No, there's nobody else."

There it was. Kevin didn't confess, but he made it painfully obvious the affair wasn't all in Addison's head.

Faking a smile, Addison nodded and stood up. "Do you want some dinner? I'm making pasta and grilled chicken."

**8D**

Pete sat on his couch, his eyes trained on the television screen, his mind in a whole other place. She went back to him. He couldn't believe she went back to him. Well, he could, actually. She wouldn't be _her_ if she didn't fight like hell for her relationship.

But _still_.

The doorbell ringing snapped Pete out of his reverie, and he got up from the sofa and ambled to the door. Swinging it open, he saw Addison standing on his doorstep, clutching her purse-strap like it was a lifeline.

"I gave him a chance to tell me," she declared softly, "and he lied straight to my face." She looked up at Pete with watery blue eyes and red cheeks. "He left again tonight."

Pete reached out for her elbow and ushered her into the house, closing the door behind him and leaning against it. He slowly took her coat, keys and bag and placed them on the hallway table before wrapping his arms loosely around her waist.

"I'm still here," he whispered, closing the distance between himself and Addison.

**A/N: So what do you think? My eyes kind of hurt right now, and I'm starting to get a major headache (college applications—just peachy), so I'm ending the chapter here. I hate making Kevin an asshole, but I couldn't make him be all sweet to her either, because that would totally not make any sense. Okay. I've rambled enough. Your turn. REVIEW.**


	3. Thanks for the Memories

Second Time Around

A **Private Practice** fic by Gigi

**Disclaimer**: As much as I wish it weren't so, the only part of Private Practice that I own is what I create in Gigi-land.

Chapter 3: Thanks for the Memories

**A/N: Sorry this story sort of fell to the back burner. It's one of those intense, emotion-filled ones that take a lot of effort to write, and I really haven't had enough energy for it. But sitting at Thanksgiving dinner (not that my dinner was an unpleasant experience) gave me idea for another chapter for it so I guess I have the effort today haha. Yes, I've been writing this chapter since November. Enjoy!**

**A/N2: BTW, I'm making it so every season has been a year, even though in Shondaland, she really doesn't seem to care. Oh, and Maya's not pregnant in this.**

Addison stopped loving Thanksgiving the last year she was in New York.

Derek didn't come home. Again. He _never_ came home, but she'd hoped he would at least for Thanksgiving. Wrong. Again.

The next Thanksgiving was very much the same, except she was in Seattle instead of New York. Derek didn't meet her for their picnic, and he didn't come home until it was night and raining and she was sitting outside with a dishtowel and tear-streaked cheeks.

Next Thanksgiving? It consisted of her pining over Alex Karev, but that, too, brought on a whole slew of unhappy memories—especially the priceless "You're not my girlfriend" bit he pulled—so she often avoided thinking about that Thanksgiving.

The Thanksgiving after that was her first one in LA, and it was all right. It wasn't really too eventful, except that Addison constantly wished she still had someone sitting in the chair right next to hers.

The next Thanksgiving was her first one as Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery-Nelson, and that one and the one after it were actually quite enjoyable. Addison was just beginning to rediscover her love of Thanksgiving, when, just in time for her third one as Kevin's wife, her husband decided to tear her world to shreds and remind her why she hated this stupid, stupid holiday in the first place.

Every year, Violet hosted Thanksgiving dinner at her house, claiming that she had nothing better to do (because she absolutely refused to admit that she was a brilliant cook). This year, Addison and Kevin stood on her doorstep, both loath to ring the doorbell.

"Addison, are you sure you're okay?" Kevin asked concernedly, placing his hand softly on her lower back.

Addison fought the urge to flinch away from his touch, knowing that he has touched _her_ with those same hands. Instead, she dropped her gaze down to the bowl of mashed potatoes that rested in her hands and fought back a few tears. _Sure, _now_ he's concerned. When other people might see_. "I'm fine, Kevin," she answered succinctly. Stepping forward and out of his touch, she rang the doorbell to excuse the movement.

Violet answered the door promptly, so harried from her day of cooking that she failed to notice the fake smile plastered on Addison's face, the pain in her eyes and the immense tension between the married couple. "Thank God you brought mashed potatoes. Naomi screwed hers up," she exclaimed.

"Hey! I heard that!" yelled Naomi from the kitchen.

Violet waved her off and invited the Nelsons inside. "Forget her. Happy Thanksgiving," she declared, bringing Addison in for a hug.

"Yeah," Addison half-laughed into Violet's brown curls. Her eyes slid out of focus as she forced out a return "Happy Thanksgiving."

**8D**

"As always," Violet pronounced once they all had gathered around the table, "let us go around the table and tell each other one thing we are thankful for this year."

As soon as those words left the psychiatrist's mouth, Addison's pale blue eyes sought out Pete's darker ones, which happened to be directly across the table from her. Panic flooded Addison's brain. What the hell was she supposed to say? _Oh, I'm thankful for the fact that my second husband is having an affair, and I'm also thankful for the fact that I'm sleeping with the man directly across from me just because Kevin has found someone else to screw. That'll blow over _really_ well._

Violet went first. "I'm thankful for Charlotte coming to join the practice," she began, nodding toward the southern blonde woman standing next to Cooper. "I know I wasn't the most enthusiastic about your coming, but now we've gotten to be friends, and I'm truly thankful you came."

A huge smile lit up Charlotte's face, and she nudged her boyfriend in the ribs so he would hurry up with his thanks so that she could go. "Ouch!" Cooper whispered. Surreptitiously rubbing his side, Cooper spoke, "I'm thankful for the recent success our practice has been having." He gestured toward Addison when he said that. "And so I'm very thankful to Addison for playing such a huge role in that success." Cooper raised his glass of wine in salute to the redhead, who allowed herself to smile softly in appreciation.

Now it was Charlotte's turn, and she directed her gaze to the hostess. "I'm thankful that I've been able to become such good friends with everyone at the practice," she declared. "It definitely made the transition much easier and more enjoyable."

At first, Pete didn't say anything. He looked pensively down at his food and contemplated what to say. Finally, he looked up and momentarily locked eyes with the woman sitting across from him before glancing to everyone around the table. "I'm thankful for all the gorgeous women sitting here tonight," he smiled, earning himself a playful slap from the two women flanking him, Charlotte and Naomi.

"_I'm_ thankful for Maya making it another year without getting pregnant," Naomi announced, "especially since two girls in her class have recently become Addison's patients." A fifteen-year-old Maya elbowed her mother in humiliation, and Naomi responded with a good-natured, motherly grin.

"Yeah, I'm thankful for overbearing parents," Maya stated sarcastically. Everyone around the table started laughing. Maya tried her hardest to keep from pouting, because she knew what was going through all the adults' minds: _Kids say the darndest things._

Sam's hearty laugh prefaced his statement, and he fought the urge to hug his daughter and lecture her at the same time. "I'm thankful that everybody got to witness that moment," he teased his daughter.

It was Addison's turn now, and as the laughter died down, the room waited for her to say what she was thankful for. Biting her lip, she shifted her eyes to her right hand, which lay on the table a few inches from her husband's left. His golden wedding band glistened on his fourth finger, but Addison felt a strong wave of resentment toward that ring, acting as if it had always been there even though it was taken off twice a week. She looked back up, and she realized that everyone was watching her and wondering why she had been so silent for so long. So she raised her glass and said what she always said.

"I'm thankful for Violet's amazing ability to cook, Cooper's gentle smile, Charlotte's snappy wit, Pete's flirtatiousness, Naomi's incessant mothering, Maya's sarcasm and Sam's bright white teeth," she announced with a smile. The last item on her thanking list was for Kevin, but there was nothing more of a lie this year. She had to say it though – that was one of her rules: no drama on holidays if it could be at all avoided. "And for my husband simply for being here with me." Usually she'd hold his hand, intertwine their fingers and smile lovingly at him. This year, she just said the words and shot him a cursory curving up of the lips.

Kevin didn't seem to notice the hesitation before she thanked him, nor did he notice the difference in body language. Addison could tell he was just ready to eat – he had his hungry face on – and he wasn't going to pay attention to the details until he was full once more. He snapped out of his hunger daze long enough to smile at the table and move his hand over a few inches to grasp his wife's. "I'm thankful to be able to share this day with everyone I love, including my beautiful wife," he said. He could still read Addison enough to realize she would turn her face if he tried to kiss her right then, so settled for squeezing her hand and bringing it up to his lips.

After a few gag sounds from Cooper and Naomi, dinner was served. Addison really didn't feel like talking, so she settled for keeping her eyes trained on her food … and occasionally on Pete, who did the same. Every once in a while, Kevin would lean in and whisper into Addison's ear like he always did, and it killed Addison to realize that Kevin still acted just as sweet and as caring as he always had before. She'd never really wanted to know how long his affair had gone on, but if his behavior hadn't changed one bit … could he have been cheating on her since they got married?

**A/N: Alright, so I'm sorry that it took me so long to update, but I feel like this was a pretty well written chapter. But what I feel doesn't matter. How do **_**you**_** feel? Tell me in a REVIEW!!**


	4. A Little Too Much Joy

Second Time Around

A **Private Practice** fic by Gigi

**Disclaimer**: As much as I wish it weren't so, the only part of Private Practice that I own is what I create in Gigi-land.

Chapter 4: A Little Too Much Joy

**A/N: I know, I know, I'm ridiculously behind on updating my stories. I'm going to try to update one story a week now, so that should make you happy. People keep messaging me and wondering if I fell of the face of the earth. I'm still here! Just super busy with frosh year, so without any further adieu, I present to you chapter 4!**

Addison couldn't get that question out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried to. Could he really have been having this affair—or worse, multiple ones—since they got married three years ago? The thought continued to send chills down her back even now, a month after Thanksgiving dinner. Physical chills. She literally shivered as she walked down the street, and it had nothing to do with the only somewhat cold morning air around her—she lived in Santa Monica, after all.

She hadn't seen Pete in anything but a professional manner since the week before Thanksgiving. After that dinner, she couldn't bear to go over to Pete's house on the nights when Kevin wouldn't come home. All she could think of was trying to figure out when the affair(s) started. She spent those nights logging what she could remember of Kevin's behavior toward her over the past three years, trying to determine where he changed from the sweet, loving husband she knew to the lying, cheating scumbag she still unfortunately loved.

Glancing at a clock as she passed by a Time After Time store, Addison noted that she had an hour and a half before she had to be at the office. She returned her gaze forward and buried her hands into the pockets of her trench coat before trudging onto her destination.

**8D**

"Pete?" Addison's voice rang timidly through the mahogany door. Within seconds, the door swung open to reveal a disheveled Pete still in his pajamas. Addison bit her lip and fiddled with her purse in her hands. "Can I come in?"

Pete found his voice finally when she asked him that question. Stepping to the side, he quickly ushered her inside. "What's up?"

The next thing Pete knew, Addison was buried in his chest inhaling deep, shuddering breaths. Concerned, Pete let his arms snake around her back, bringing her even further into his embrace as she continued to attempt to compose herself. "Addison?" he asked quietly after some time.

"I can't figure it out," Addison declared brokenly into his chest.

"Figure what out?"

"When it all started," came the distraught reply. "When he stopped being only mine."

"Addison," Pete started, bringing her out of the hug so that he could look her in the face. He still held her gently but firmly by the shoulders, but he needed to talk to her face, not her hair. "Why do you need to know this?"

Addison sniffed and stubbornly blinked away the tears that threatened to fall, bring Pete's surprised attention to the lack of wetness on his shirt. "Because he's acting just the same as he always has. If he hadn't gotten careless, and I hadn't seen that _damn_ nightgown, I never would have known he was having an affair."

Pete's eyes softened in understanding, and he quickly moved to alleviate her fears. Bringing her back into a warm embrace, his hand went to smooth down her hair as he spoke. "Addison, he was _not_ having an affair when he married you."

"How do you know that?"

"I was _there_. I had never met a happier man in my life than Kevin was when he talked about you. He wasn't _proud_ that he had an incredibly gorgeous, successful and sexy wife on _top_ of a girlfriend who satisfied his needs whenever you weren't around. He was genuinely happy and _thankful_ that someone as kind, beautiful and intelligent as you had actually chosen to be with him," Pete insisted, no matter how much the words made his heart clench. He left out the part about him being jealous enough to consider not even going to the wedding—Addison didn't need to know how long he'd been pining after her. First of all, it was embarrassing, and secondly, that really wasn't what Addison needed to hear at the moment. She needed the reassurance that her entire marriage wasn't a lie.

Addison didn't respond, choosing instead to continue to breathe in Pete's calming scent and savor the soothing feel of his hand on her hair. She closed her eyes and buried her face further into his chest, willing the pain to stop. It didn't.

**8D**

Later that day, Addison pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes to ward off the headache that was looming over her like a dark cloud threatening to pour down buckets on her. The patient she had just left was the fourth one that day in a holiday sweater, and the lobby was filled to the brim with Christmas cheer. From the gigantic fir tree in the corner to the wreaths hanging on every door, the office just exuded Christmas. Yet another holiday that was effectively ruined for Addison.

It was honestly like everything good about any holiday just stopped applying to her as soon as she left New York. Her first Christmas present in Seattle was her then-husband telling her he loved Meredith Grey. The next two consisted of her alone on her couch, curled up in a blanket with a mug of hot cocoa and watching Elf because every other movie depressed her to no end. Even Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel got their happy ending in that movie. What the hell was wrong with Addison that she couldn't hold onto a man?

Addison couldn't help but picture her curled up on that couch again in a few days, with a box of tissues and that mug of hot cocoa. Kevin would no doubt rather "work" on that night instead of watch it with her, and at this point, she didn't even know if she wanted him to. All she knew was that there was just a little too much joy in the air for her.

The receptionist's voice rang through her intercom. "Dr. Montgomery, your next patient is in Exam Room 3."

Lowering her hands from her eyes, Addison sighed and pressed the speaker button. "Okay, thank you." She stood up once she stopped speaking and picked up the file for her next patient before making her way out of her office. Approaching Exam Room 3, she peeked through the half-open blinds to catch a look at her patient—a red sweater with holly leaves printed all over it. A sound suspiciously similar to a desperate sob escaped her lips before she gathered herself enough to plaster a fake smile on her face and walk in the room.

**8D**

Addison stood at the threshold of her living room, staring into the room almost loathingly. On that incredibly comfortable couch innocently lay her cozy fleece blanket. On the table in front of it was the open DVD case for Elf, with the remote resting beside it. Feeling the warmth of the hot cocoa seep into her ice-cold hands, Addison couldn't bring herself to step into that room and spend another Christmas night alone. She'd thought that, once she'd married Kevin, she was done spending Christmases alone. Obviously, she was wrong.

She turned on her heel and walked back into the kitchen, picking up the phone and dialing a familiar number. The phone rang for a few times before a husky voice answered. "Hello?"

"Can you come over?" Addison asked softly. "Kevin's _working_, and I really would rather not spend tonight alone."

"Sure, what'd you have in mind?" Pete's voice came through.

"I was planning on watching Elf. It's my go-to Christmas movie," Addison answered. "I can make you some of my world-famous hot cocoa."

"Well, I'm not one to turn down hot cocoa," came Pete's lighter reply, making Addison's lips quirk upward slightly. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Half an hour later found Addison curled up against Pete on the couch as the opening sequence of the movie lit up the large television. The cozy fleece blanket draped across both of them, and Pete's arm rested on top of the couch, conveniently brushing the tops of her shoulders and the back of her head. "You like the hot cocoa?" Addison asked, tilting back her face to look Pete in the face.

Pete flashed her a fond smile. "It's the best hot cocoa I've ever tasted," he praised. "I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to my old hot cocoa after this."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Addison felt her face break into a genuine smile before snuggling herself deeper into the blanket and using Pete's chest as a pillow. "Thanks for coming tonight."

"Anytime, Addie," Pete whispered, kissing the top of her hair before returning his attention to the movie.

**8D**

Kevin came home early the next morning in an extremely cheerful mood, but when he pulled into the driveway, he couldn't help but feel a little confused at seeing another car at his and Addison's house so early in the morning. Letting himself into the house quietly, he strained his ears for any sounds. Dropping off his keys on the kitchen counter, he tiptoed into the living room, where a shocking sight froze him in his tracks.

On the end of the couch nearest to him lay his wife, fast asleep and hugging a pillow desperately close to her chest. On the other end lay another man, who he recognized as Pete, Addison's close friend, just as dead to the world as the redhead at his feet. Two empty mugs rested on the floor, and a DVD case and remote were on the coffee table. It all looked very unassuming, but for the fact that there was _another man_ in _his_ house at 5:30 in the morning!

Trying desperately to squash the anger that flared up in his gut, Kevin rapped his knuckles loudly on the wooden doorframe beside him to rouse the sleeping pair. He watched as his wife's eyes blinked open blearily, and she poked Pete, whose hand somehow rested on the coffee table, in his leg to wake him.

"Wha…?" Pete growled, keeping his eyes shut.

"Why are you making so much noise?" Addison complained sleepily.

"What? You're the one who woke me up," Pete replied, still refusing to open his eyes.

"Then who was knocking on wood just now?"

"That would be me," Kevin supplied sourly, causing two doctors to bolt into sitting positions in surprise. "Mind explaining what the hell is going on here?"

**A/N: I actually didn't mean for this moment to get here so soon, but rarely do my fingers ever listen to what my brain wants them to do. I hope you like my fingers' rebellion anyway. I won't know that, however, unless you REVIEW!**


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